An Old Coot
by RockaRoller88
Summary: A young, eager Metalbender who dreams of entering the prestigious Police Force in New Republic City has to take a terrifying final exam from an old, eccentric Water Tribesman! Who is this old coot, and what's his connection to Lin Bei Fong?


**A/N:** Wow... Been a long, long, long long loooooooooooong time since I've submitted an Avatar story, actually a whole other account ago (that I've since lost the password to). Well, the new Legend of Korra and the Promise coming out have totally rekindled my love of that show so I wrote something new for it! There's so much to fill in between the start of the new show and the end of the old!

Anyway, I won't hold you from the story much longer. This one's written from the perspective of a young (maybe 18ish) metalbender whose trying to get accepted into the metalbending police academy! Enjoy! I sure enjoyed writing it...

**Disclaimer:** I'll be honest, if Avatar were mine, I would have ruined it a long long long time ago...

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The doorway looks painfully normal and innocuous: a simple oaken frame with a brass knob set into the stone wall. It gives not a single hint as to the perpetual nervousness that surrounds it, the constant feeling of dread from those metalbending students who dare to open it.

The graduates of the Bei Fong Academy of Earthbending that receive invitations from the police force in Republic City are the best of the best. Behind that door lies a final lesson that everyone goes through, a test that most fail to pass despite the talent that brought them that far.

I feel the sweat dribbling down my palm as I open the door, the sound of the knob drowned out by the clanking of my plate armor. I flinch a little before entering the room, a small, frightened part of me not wanting to process whatever is inside.

This is the test that the Metalbending Police Corps talks about in hushed tones, the best kept secret in New Republic City. This is the test that separates the metal from the slag, that leaves so many prospective elites on the cutting room floor like garbage. Chief Beifong raised an eyebrow like an arrow string being pulled when she approved me for this test. I am a brave man and a skilled metalbender, but that never seems to matter to those that attempt this, and despite myself I am a little terrified.

Light pouring from the windows grabs hold of my vision, blinding me as I attempt to adjust to the room. As the image begins to resolve, I make out a large open floor, broken only by a lone red bench lying against the wall. An old man sits atop it, holding a cane loosely in his right hand as his head rests on the stone behind him. A lone blue eye snaps open and rests on me; I am struck by the realization that this guy is Water Tribe.

Cavernous wrinkles dance across his brown cheeks as he speaks. "Who are you?" His voice is as gnarled as he is and strangely high-pitched.

Confused, I snap to attention. "I, um, what am I supposed to be.. what is..."

"That's a stupid sounding name," he spits, scowling deeply, "I'm supposed to be waiting here for a metalbending warrior. Make yourself useful and go fetch him for me."

I swallow. "Um, sir, I'm the metalbender. I'm supposed to report for a test?"

His eyes pop open again, looking me up and down. He struggles to rise, planting his cane upon the ground and forcibly drawing himself up. He hobbles a little as he walks over to me, not quite leaning on his cane but using it for support. I can smell a faintly meat-ish odor as he comes within inches in my face, the shock of white hair upon his scalp nearly touching me.

"Um.."

"Stop saying that!" he snaps, spittle flying from his open mouth, "Are you an idiot or something?"

I open my mouth to respond, but he cuts me off. "You're a scrawny, pathetic thing! I'm here for a metalbender, not some fragile little daffodil! Grow up a bit, and come back to be a policeman when you're ready!"

A twitch of anger replaces my confusion. I'm quickly getting tired of this senile old idiot's posturing.

"I _am _ready to be a metalbending policeman you old coot!" I hiss, forgetting my officer's etiquette, "Just give me the stupid test!"

He sneers contemptuously, raising a paper white eyebrow high up his forehead. "Are you now, boy? Are you ready?"

He backs up a touch, switching his grip on the cane and whipping it around like an odd sword.

"I'm your test! You think a prancing little rabbitsquirrel like yourself has what it takes to beat an old veteran?"

I roll my eyes, waiting for the punchline. "Just give me the real test, old man. I'm not here to play ga-" is as far as I get before he leaps forward and whips the cane across my face. I yelp aloud and draw a hand to my face, the stinging pain throbbing like a tidal wave in my cheek. My palm comes away bloody and I scowl deeply, gritting my teeth.

Rage overcomes my good sense as I throw myself into the Horse stance. "Fine, you asked for it you relic!"

He lets out a wheezing cackle, grinning like a madman as he pounces forward again. This time, however, I am ready. I bring my gauntlet covered hand up and shunt his cane aside giving me the chance to punch forward with the metal whips locked in my armor. The steel comes alive, snaking around his skinny frame and wrapping tightly against his arms. He tries to bring the cane back around but I jerk the whips upward, allowing the tendrils to pin his arms to his sides. I begin to smile, strutting forward to flaunt my victory when he suddenly draws his head back and fires a hulking gob of spit into my right eye.

I roar in pain and disgust, but he has shaken my hold and squirmed out of the metal trap before I can recover. I slap a hand over my eye and try to draw the quivering metal back into action, but before I can move he drives his foot impossibly hard between my legs, underneath the metal kilt of my armor. Stars explode in my eyes and I scream, the noise sounding distant and far away, like its coming from somewhere else. I'm already tipping backwards as he cracks the cane against the back of my knees, shooting them out from under me and flinging me hard against the unforgiving ground. The ceiling tiles blur and refocus in my vision as he swings the cane again, stopping not more than a centimeter from my prone, exposed face. He grins, looking decidedly more evil than senile as I try to recover my shocked and scattered senses.

"Relic, huh?" he sneers, "How're you going to explain getting your butt handed to you by an old relic to your pansy friends?"

I grit my teeth, fighting through the pain throbbing mercilessly in my crotch. "You... you cheated!" I gasp, "You fought dirty!"

"_Cheated?_" he roars, an enormous frown replacing his grin, "What do you think this is, an Agni Kai? You want to be a _policeman_ you imbecile, you think the Triads are going to play honorably? You think they won't murder civilians around you to escape getting caught? What are you going to tell a mother whose innocent son was killed during an attempted arrest? 'I'm sorry, I could've stopped the criminal easier but I wanted to fight _honorably'_?"

The pain begins to subside, but I can think of nothing to say to that.

"I'm a non-bending crazy old man, and I just took down a powerful bender a third of my age!" he continues, "How do you think I survived all the battles of the war? Hmm? I'll tell you, I learned to fight _dirty!_ I took every advantage I could get, because I didn't have the bending superpowers the enemy did!"

All I can do is look up at him, jaw agape, as he offers me his cane. He's right, he's entirely right. I'm going to be a policeman. My job is to serve and protect, not act like a fighter in the Pro Bending Tournaments. I nod resolutely, grabbing a hold of the bottom of the cane and allowing him to draw me up. Then, as I regain my feet, while he is still off balance, I crash my fist into his nose, letting go of the cane and sending him crashing to the floor. Blood streams from his nose, a scowl of pain and anger stretching across his face.

For a terrible second, I have a premonition of my impulsive punch getting me into serious, serious trouble, but as he draws his hand away from his face and sees the blood, a grin blossoms on his worn, cracked face. He begins to howl with laughter.

I shrink a little as he pulls himself up, creaking and groaning all the way. His oceanic blue eyes grab a hold of me, far more youthful than the rest of him.

"Lin! I like this one! He passes!" he shouts to someone I can't see, "You're going to do well, I think, kiddo."

I hear a sudden rattling of armor as Chief Bei Fong emerges from the dark behind me. A cold hand of shock clenches around my chest, snapping me to attention as I clumsily salute. "Chief Bei Fong, ma'am!"

She glowers at me, that permanent scowl etched into her face eying me up and down.

"Are you sure?" she asks the old man, "That punch was dirty, even by _your _standards."

He sighs dramatically, slinging a friendly arm over my shoulders. I clench up at the awkwardness of the moment, but neither he nor Chief Bei Fong seem to notice.

"You know she has never had much of a sense of humor," he tells me, "Not even when she was little. Try not to hold it against her." Chief Bei Fong's expression hardens and beads of sweat drip down my face.

"Don't frown so much!" the old man says to her, "Your mother never frowned that much! And _she _had a sense of humor as well!" He winks conspiratorially at me. "I got most of my best insults from her mother! Well, her and the old Fire Lord's wife. You know, I'm actually quite a big deal over there in the Fire Nation!"

I see Chief Bei Fong's eye begin to twitch and rock of fear drops into my stomach. "You are dismissed," she growls, clearly frustrated, "Report to the Police Academy at 0600 in full dress armor. Do you understand?"

"Yes, ma'am!" I squeak, trying to gather my senses as I shuffle to the exit.

"You're so incurably serious, Lin!" the old man sighs, "I suppose we should be grateful that you at least got your height from me."

Chief Bei Fong sighs, the action eerily similar to that of the old man.

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**A/N: **Yes, you guessed right, I made Lin the product of Toph and Sokka! I know I'm not the only Tokkan whose desperately hoping for this to be the case, even if its a bit unlikely :-( I really enjoyed writing Sokka as a senile old man, though. I figured, all the old masters in the Avatar universe are either stoic and serious like Piandou or hilariously senile like Bumi, and c'mon, we all know that Sokka's the senile type!

If this gets a good reaction (reviews, reviews, reviews!) I might write a longer story, or I might make up a collection of oneshots. What would y'all like to see? Let me know! Any reply is more than welcome!

Keep reading!

RockaRoller88


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